Tag Archives: life

Recently my 67-year-old sister-in-law shocked her oldest daughter by telling her that she liked RAP music (for lack of a better word though it hardly qualifies as music.) We all got a good laugh out of that because we’re almost sure she doesn’t even know what RAP is. Or she might really shock us by knowing what it is. But it is highly doubtful. This is a woman who does not use swear words nor does she want them said around her. She is a true Southern Lady.

I thought about it and I decided I might like some RAP if they didn’t cuss so much. As I was growing up, and trust me that was many moons ago, we were taught that a person uses cuss words because they have a limited vocabulary. So the author of RAP just like any other writer should strive to develop a repertoire of words even though they might never use them in any of their work. We know that as writers we should tell the story (or song) in the most precise terms. A reader or listener does not want to struggle through fifty dollar words when ten-cent words will get the point across.

There are a number of ways to build our collection of words; Scrabble, learning a new word every day, reading and so on and on. I prefer the reading method. I like having the knowledge when and if I ever need it but like every one else I attempt to make my manuscripts an easy, enjoyable read. Our readers want to be entertained not impressed by our large vocabularies but on the other hand I feel they don’t want every other word to be a cuss word.

Will I listen to RAP? I have in the past when my sons and I were sharing a car. I didn’t really like it then but I did enjoy sharing the moment with which ever son was driving me to and from work that particular day. They were also kind enough to listen to my Country Music on rare, very rare, occasions. Today if you get in my car and turn on the CD player you will probably hear something like “The Wheels on The Bus Go Round and Round.” Why? Because that is the kind of music my two-year old grandson enjoys and we are sharing moments and building happy memories.

I like most music but not all of any genre. Music is part of life and wouldn’t the world be colorless without it?

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time settle back in a comfort chair and listen to RAP… or not. God bless.

At an early age I learned that we all live and die by our decisions. Once we are old enough to know right from wrong then we are responsible for our own decisions. Oh yes, it’s true of me and it might be true of you, that God has control of my life. He surely does. However, He allows us to make our own decisions.

Take my first novel for example; when I got the offer from its publisher deep down I felt that I should not go with them. But I was so excited to see it in print that I pushed aside the feeling. And I fully believe it was the Holy Spirit guiding me but I squelched His warning. Thessalonians 5:19 tells us to not quench (squelch) the Holy Spirit. In other words we are to listen to Him and not push His teaching and guidance aside; which I did. So God allowed me to make my decision and of course I didn’t make as much as I would have had I waited for God. But it was solely my decision and I must live with it.

If you are having trouble in a relationship you might want to blame the other person. But the thing to do is stop, look at the situation and see if it isn’t because of some decision you are making or have made in the past. The reason might have been getting involved with that person in the first place. If you can’t see it just ask God to show you and He will. I know He has helped me so much in my life. And remember you will never, ever be able to change another person. The only person you can change is yourself. None of us are perfect but we can work to shape our lives with Jesus for the pattern.

I can’t blame God because I have not finished my new novel “Tomorrow’s Memories.” I’ve been very lazy and procrastinated way too much. A habit I must try hard to get rid of. God tells us that we shouldn’t be lazy (a sluggard) that we should look at how hard the ant works and do the same. (Proverbs 6: 6-8 & Proverbs 10: 4&5.) If we are lacking (whether wealth or satisfaction) because we procrastinated and are lazy we can not blame God. Yes He provides what we need but He also told Adam that he would earn his living by the sweat of his brow (Genesis 3:10.) I don’t know where you could find it in the Bible or if it is even in the Bible but as I’ve said before, I believe God gives each of us a talent and He leaves it up to us to find that talent, fine tune it and make our living. If we make the decision to ignore the talent then we face the consequences. But it is our decision. He gave us the tools and we can choose to use them or let them lay dormant. If you watch nature you will see that even the animals and birds search for their food. God provides it but they must find it. Should we expect anything more?

I promise myself that I will quit procrastinating and put in so many hours a day on “Tomorrow’s Memories” at least five days a week. I must because there are so many other novels in me that I need to get out. When I retired I told myself that I would write more; that I would treat my writing as a regular job where I had to show up so many hours a day. I lied to myself and I haven’t done that but I fully intend to correct that error (or lie whichever you prefer.)

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time keep writing and watch what decisions you make. God bless.

We hear so many stories today of divorce and families being separated for one reason or an other. There is one relationship that we never have to worry about anything separating us from: our relationship with God.

As I have stated before I base this blog on my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and my devotional from Dr. Charles Stanley. I most definitely want to give credit where credit is due. The main credit for our existence should be given to God our Father. As Dr. Stanley teaches: the lord designed us for a close intimate relationship with Him. God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross as a substitute for us. When Jesus hung on that old cross all sins past, present and future were imputed to Him. He did this in obedience to God the Father and because of His love for us. God even sends us a Guide and Teacher, the Holy Spirit, to teach us His ways and to intercede for us when we pray and just don’t know how to pray or what to pray for.

When we trust in Jesus God adopts us as His very own children, we are part of the family of God! Now think about it. Think about your love for your children and family. When they are in need is there anything you would not do for them? If they are hungry, need clothes or are sick wouldn’t you go to any measure to take care of their needs? Then why do you think God would do any less for us? He loves us far more than we are capable of loving anyone or anything: yet we doubt Him. When we have a problem we fret and worry instead of calling “Father!” He is here with us and He loves us yet we don’t believe. God wants us to turn to Him. He wants to supply everything we need no matter how large or how small. I’ll be honest with you, He has even helped me find a parking place. And He helps me merge into the flow of traffic when I am driving on a busy highway. If I misplace or lose something I ask and He leads me to it. What He does for me He will do for you. Try it, trust Him. The Bible is full of His love for us. And once we have faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ no force can pluck us from His hand. Which mean absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love. All He asks is that we trust Him.

Our circle of influence might be small or it might be huge but either way we all have an effect on others. They watch us to see how we will handle ourselves in certain situations. Yes, some are hoping we will fail to act in a Christian way. But others are watching to learn what to do should they face similar circumstances. We need to hold firm to our Christian values and principles. Like Daniel our actions determine the outcome. Oh, we might not persuade kings or people of great power but again we might. The person watching might only be a child (our children or grandchildren, who in my opinion is more important than men of power.) Only God knows who He has allowed to cross our path and why He did so. No matter who is involved we should stand firm on our convictions to God. It was Daniel’s convictions that determined his behavior. He knew it was wrong to eat meat offered to false gods. He did not act in a harsh way and simply refuse to eat. He was humble and asked the guard to test him by letting him eat vegetables for ten days. We can be humble and still stand firm on our principles.

Yesterday another blogger told about the birth of her granddaughter and of course I thought of my precious grandson. He is such a joy. It doesn’t take much to make him happy; his pacifier, teething ring or a walk outside. He absolutely loves to be outside and this brings me so much happiness since I am a nature person myself. I have great plans of teaching him to appreciate the beauty in this world and ignore the ugliness. If we all took lessons from small children and were contented with the simple things wouldn’t like be so much better? We worry about keeping up with the Jones and truth be told they are trying to keep us with us. Why should we waste our days closed up in some office or other job working our fool heads off to buy things? If we look around we will probably realize that we have all we need. Do we really need a bigger house with three or four guest rooms. I mean, come on, after a few days all guest get on our nerves no matter how many bedrooms we have. It is great to entertain and welcome others in our home but I think they would enjoy the visit better if our house was actually a home and not a show place. I love going to visit someone when I can look around and see board-games they played with their children still off the shelves or maybe the paper is sort of scattered on the easy chair and the magazines not completely aligned with the edge of the table. You can see that they actually read the paper and magazines. It is clear that this house is a home where a family live and enjoy each other’s company.

I’ll leave the perfect rooms to the pages of some magazine or designer catalogue and I’ll live in my house, thank you very much. You might find a cup in the sink, or cookies cooling on a rack on the counter. We might even just rinse all the breakfast dishes and leave them for later while we take a nice walk or play with our grandson. We will be living our lives instead of pretending and we will be enjoying the simple things.

Like this:

I talked to my sister today and we were reminiscing about our childhood and our siblings. The other eight brothers and sisters have all gone home to be with the Lord. We were blessed to have had them touch our lives in so many positive ways.

Our parents weren’t rich but we weren’t poor either. Daddy had a small 193 acre farm in Georgia. Everybody had chores to do but we all worked together so life was not bad. Momma and Daddy always told us we could be anything we wanted to be; that all we had to do was set our heart on it and work real hard. They never laughed or said it was foolish when I told them my dream of being an author. During the summer, when the days were long and the work was hard, in the evenings we would all sit out on our wide front porch. It ran all the way across the front of the house and was pretty full with several rocking chairs. The kids who were not lucky enough to get a chair sprawled on the steps while others sat with their feet dangling over the edge of the porch. I was the youngest of the ten so most nights I snuggled in Daddy’s lap and he rocked me. We all usually had a cold glass of ice tea and Momma kept a pitcher full beside her on a small table; ready to refill any empty glass. Most of the boys played guitars and my Momma played a banjo. The family sang together as we relaxed. The mosquitoes buzzed around our heads as the sun sank lower in the sky and the stars came out. Often some of the neighbors would drift up the red clay lane that led to our house from the main road and join in the singing. Momma had taught my other siblings (I never could carry a tune even in a bucket) to harmonize and they sang in church most Sundays. The weather was hot and the humidity hung heavy in the air. Hot weather bugs and crickets hid in the dark and added their music to the melodies. Some nights a soft breeze blew the pretty music down the road and through the hollow. Every night I vowed to stay wake and go to bed when the others did but I usually drifted off to sleep and woke the next morning snuggled against my sister with the music still echoing in my head.

Like an onion as we grew we developed layer by layer to become the people we are today. We learned so many lessons on that front porch but I believe the most important was how to love and to be loved. Now even though Momma and Daddy and all the other siblings are with the Lord (I like to think they’re singing in Heaven) my sister and I have all those wonderful memories. If you could peel us back layer by layer like an onion you would see our Momma and Daddy’s teaching and love on each layer.

Thanks for listening to my memories. Please stop back by real soon. Tell someone you care about that you love them before it is too late. I have no regrets where my family is concerned because we all shared a wonderful love and knew it.